Games for the Battle of Iwo Jima

The Battle for Iwo Jima

• A war game designed by the Japanese, "The Battle for Iwo Jima" was published in Games Journal magazine. Players take command of either American or Japanese forces and attempt to defeat their opponent, with a hex board being used to simulate troop movement and miniatures or counters used to represent regiments, artillery and vehicles.

Nishi Ridge: The Battle of Iwo Jima 1945

• This war game was released in 2006, and uses the Advanced Tobruk System, a rules set that focuses on squad-level combat. Players represent the action of the battle for the island using game maps made from card stock, and use dice to determine the outcome of action. Die-cut counters of varying sizes are used to represent troops such as gun batteries and soldiers.

World War II Combat: Iwo Jima

• A first-person shooter game, this title for Microsoft's Xbox bends history a little, with the player assuming the role of a lone U.S. Marine who's sent to Iwo Jima in a small squad. With his squad mates slain, the player must tackle the Japanese defenses of the island alone, using a variety of weapons such as rifles, grenade launchers and machine guns in the process. Players begin each mission with a weapon allocated to them, but can pick up a second gun during the level. Mission locations include trenches, forests and caves. The game's difficulty increases because of a lack of healing opportunities, which are typically present in first-person shooter games. When the player takes damage, he must beware of further injury.

Iwo Jima

• A single-player war game published in Strategy &Tactics magazine, "Iwo Jima" provides rules for a scenario based around the American attack on the Japanese position on the beaches of the island. The player must assault the beach and attempt to rid the island of enemy forces, with her Japanese opponents returning fire when U.S. forces get close to the Japanese position. Rules cover airfield strikes, the U.S. Navy's role and ambushes, too.

The Sands of Iwo Jima

• "The Sands of Iwo Jima" is a war game played out on a hex-based game map filled with cut-out counters that represent troops, "The Sands of Iwo Jima" contains rules covering a number of scenarios. Players can choose to play out a historically correct version of events and simulate the U.S. assault on South Beach, or else play through an attack on other areas of the island. The rules are designed for either solitary or multiplayer gaming.